Auld Lang Syne
by Q Illespont
Summary: Chiyo talks about her past in America, and discovers her future. Set after 'The Lady and the Tiger'.


Disclaimer: none of the characters presented here are mine.  
Written by Q. Illespont  
Copyright 2005

AULD LANG SYNE

Note: This takes place some time after 'The Lady and the Tiger'; however, no spoilers of that story are here. Well, just one, but it's not really major.

* * *

I walked into the grocery store, and smiled to the checkout clerk on my way past. Poor guy, he has to work tonight. Christmas Eve, just before the big day. Still, he looked happy. He was reading through a manga I remembered seeing in America. Think I bought a copy of that one for Sakakiit featured a cat, and I knew she'd like it. He looked up enough to greet me, though. 'Hi there, Miss Mihama.' I kept smiling ... until I got out of sight, in the aisles in the store.

The market was mainly empty this time of day, this time of year. When I pulled up, there was just one other car. I'd started driving when I was studying in North Carolinait's just about vital to getting around in most American cities. Then again, there's so many cars it's like I'm just adding to the problem. But it was expected of just about anyone in college to drive, and I dutifully went along. They said I was a natural behind the wheel, too! So surprisingI was almost terrified of trying it myself. Miss Yukari left her mark on me, and I thought the car was going to rocket straight from the stand out into a building or something. Now, some of my friends there suggest I try racing! I can't imagine getting into that this young, but then they tell me how folks my age are already in some of their top-level racing series. Still, I had other things I needed to do. I was there to study.

I wandered through the store, picking up things. Vegetables, breads, drinks, I lost count. I sighed as I wandered aimlessly in the store. Usually, I'm so happy getting all this good food to cook for myself or my family. Or even my friends. But now ... I've lost it. Cooking used to be so much fun. What happened? I've been back here in Tokyo for two months now, and I've gone from merrily singing as I cooked to dreading it.

I sighed, and looked to see where I was. Ice cream on one side, mixed veggies on the other. Frozen foods, apparently. I stared at the ice cream for a few minutes, wondering if I should just get a litre of chocolate and get back into the latest melodramas on TV. Not really useful, but not much was really feeling good anymore. I sighed and leaned against the glass door, trying to get my thoughts together. Four degrees, including some of the more intensive programs, and here I couldn't even find out what was so wrong with me. Some prodigy I was, huh?

Suddenly, I felt a hand touch my arm. I gasped at that, my heart picking up some. I remember Osaka once mentioned I'd be a prime kidnap candidate when I was younger, but there was nothing that anyone could see that'd make me a target, was there? I was just dressed in a simple sweatshirt I got from the States, and jeans. Hair was tied up in a ponytailI'd started doing that over there, made me look more mature. I did miss the pigtails some, but it helped folks not think I was looking for my bigger sibling when I was on my way to senior-level courses.

I spun around to see who had touched me. The girl was wearing a pink dress under a plain overcoat, and nothing in the way of jewelry. I stared at her for a few moments, trying to recall. Then it hit me. Those almost but not really vacant eyes looking at me. That soft smile. The straight hair to her shoulders. Her slender frame. 'Miss Osaka!'

'Hiya, Chiyo-chan!'

I broke out in a huge smile, and reached to hug her. She responded, and we hugged for a few moments like that. 'I didn't know it was you, Miss Osaka!'

She answered, 'Aww, you don't hafta call me "Miss" anymore.' She giggled and stepped back. 'But you can still call me Osaka, if you wanna. I think everyone else in the country's callin' me Ayumu, an' it's kind'a special to be called a cute nickname. Even if it's a whole city. And it'd be weird for everyone else to yell "Osaka!" at me.'

I just nodded, still smiling. Did I look as goofy as Osaka did? I didn't care; it was my first real smile in weeks. I pulled back from the hug, and tried to take her in again ... except that when I did, my wrist caught the strap of her purse, and pulled it off her shoulder. Not enough to drop it, but I did shake out a lot of its contents onto the floor. 'Ack, I'm sorry!' I cried.

She just waved my apology off as if there were nothing to apologize for. She's almost always that way, and rather than press it, I just crouched down with her to help gather up her things. Once we took care of that, we walked back over to the checkout stand. We talked about small thingsthe Giants, how North Carolina looked in the spring, sea slugs (guess who brought that one up), and the weather. We paused for breath, and just for the sake of pausing as the clerk rang up our things. I paid for the totalit wasn't much, and Osaka only had some of that sata andagi she discovered when we went to Okinawashe mentioned she couldn't get enough of it. It wasn't really anything bankbreaking, and I wanted to get it for her, anyway. And she looked so glad when I did. I doubt it was for just the money, too.

After it was all taken care of, we went out to load my groceries up in the Toyota Prius I'd gotten. If I'm going to have a car, why not something dependable and economical? It's a decent car, although just about everyone back at the university were certain I'd be driving around in some kind of exotic European sports car. Or a limo. Or some fancy prototype sports car. At least they kid I'm being patriotic.

Soon everything was loaded up, and the cargo compartment closed. I leaned against the driver's side door (that took some adjusting once I'd gotten back), and looked over to Osaka. I knew I should be on my way back home, but ... perhaps I deserved a bit of time for one of my best friends from high school. I hadn't seen her in so long, and I could tell she was so anxious to tell me about what had been going on in her life. I know I wanted to talk more, too.

She finally broke the silence with, 'Mind havin' a few drinks with me, Chiyo? There's a great club a few blocks away.'

I giggled. 'You know I'm still underage.'

'Aww ... '

I giggled again, and opened the doors. 'Come on, let's go. You gotta show me where it is, though ... '

She smiled, and got in with me. I followed her directions, and found myself in front of what seemed like a quiet neighbourhood bar. Small, local, mainly catering to nearby residents rather than teeming throngs. Unfortunately, in deference to the upcoming Christmas, it had closed long before we'd gotten there. We sighed in disappointment, and I turned to her. 'What now?' I asked.

'Well, maybe we could go to the ... no, wait, they're closed, too. Ornah, that shut down two years ago.'

'Osaka, maybe we could just sit in the park?'

She smiled. 'That's right. We can have our own little bar in the car!'

I started to protest that's not what I really meant, but instead changed my mind and drove back to the supermarket. I parked the car, and said to Osaka, 'You'd better get your things. I'm still underage, you know.'

'Allright,' she answered, and headed back in. A few minutes later, she returned with a few bottles of that beer Kagura was advertising, and a couple bottles of juice for me. I looked, and saw it was my favourite kind, too. 'See,' she said, 'I remembered what ya like.'

'Thanks, Osaka,' I said, and drove away.

We arrived at the park we used to go to when we were still schoolgirls. Instead of heading toward the fountain, I found a place to pull up and park the car, and we sat inside it. Osaka started sipping a beer, and I took a few pulls on my juice bottle as we watched the snow drift quietly to earth.

Osaka asked the first question. 'What brings ya back to Japan, anyway?'

I smiled. 'I've got a fiance, and we're supposed to get married in four months!'

'Wow, you're getting married? When'd that happen?'

I blushed. 'My parents arranged it. They figured it'd be a good thing for me to have that set up, rather than having to deal with folks who'd only want to marry me for having rich parents, or whatever. And I'd never really had a chance to try dating, either, so'

Osaka interrupted me. 'You never went on a date?'

I giggled at that. 'None of the boys I knew were ever in my age group, you know. And once they caught up ... ' I leaned back, looking at the dark sky. 'Once they did, none of them really seemed that impressive. Maybe it was that they were all Americans. A good old-fashioned Japanese man might be better, I guess.'

I saw Osaka's smile fade as I said that. She then let out a soft sigh. 'Old-fashioned man?'

I could've sworn I didn't put any inflections on that. No clues about what I really thought of someone like that. I tried distracting her, so she wouldn't think much of it. 'He's an architect now, working at his father's firm. Not exactly national-attention, but he's a good provider. We've got our own place, too. He takes care of things.'

'Bet with two of you, you'd run half the country by now, Chiyo.'

I winced at that, and I desperately hoped that Osaka didn't notice. That was too much to ask for; Osaka was flighty, but not totally ignorant. 'Somethin' wrong?' she asked. She looked to me, and I could feel my usual excuses come to mind. I could tell her that he's the breadwinner, that he takes care of everything, that I don't need to do anything but keep the house in good shape.

I tried it. 'Well, actually, he does everything. I just keep the place clean, cook dinner, that sort of thing. I don't need to do much, really.'

'What'd you study, again?'

I quickly took the chance to change the subject. 'Oh, lots of things! I started with linguistics, but soon I saw how words were important, not just in conversation and languages, but for all kinds of things. I started taking courses in law, and I'd like to find a good law school to finish up at, either here or back in Carolina. I also fit in a few business majors, like accounting and IT. But I think I'd like to stick with law.'

Osaka just gazed in admiration. 'Wow. Maybe you could teach me some of that.'

I giggled again. 'Maybe ... I'm still learning most of it, though, and some of the law things are more American. All I know about things here are from reading other articles. I'd need to take some specialized courses.'

'Well, when ya do, mind helping me out? I could use some help with that stuff. Never could understand all that legal mumbo-jumbo.'

I opened my mouth to eagerly accept. I'd loved to do that for all my friends, and I always liked taking care of my classmates, especially Osaka. Tomo liked to copy my stuff, Kagura would usually pick Sakaki, but Osaka depended on me. And I made sure I didn't disappoint her. I wouldn't just show her the answer, I'd try to teach her how to get it herself so she could learn, and build up her own confidence.

Then I remembered why I came back to Japan. It was him, of course. The man I was set to marry. And he had expectations of me. I had to be ready with dinner every night. His shirts ironed, his clothes made, everything like that. Everything just so. I'd be his 'little woman', waiting each night for him. I sighed, and remembered my place. He'd mention that I should remember it more often.

Osaka saw me sag, and sighed herself. 'What's wrong, Chiyo-chan?'

I was so close. I wanted to tell her, but I didn't want to embarass myself like that. I tried distracting her. 'That's about the first time you called me that, Osaka. Why's that?'

She smiled to me again, that warm smile I've seen so many times. 'Well, I told you you'd just be plain old Chiyo if you ever grew up ... and wow, did ya grow.' She looked at me again, and I blushed a little as she saw me. True to her words, I've grown a lot. Maybe it was a late growth spurt, maybe I was just due, maybe America makes everything bigger, but I was now on par with Yomi height-wise. I actually could look down to Osaka! And in the right shoes, I could almost look Sakaki in the eyes. I also filled out my figure, too. Again, I wouldn't catch Sakaki (poor girl, I can kind'a sympathize with her now), but I'm definitely not easy to mistake for a grade school kid anymore. Osaka, however ... well, she must've already been at her physical maturity when I met her in school.

'Thanks for noticing, Osaka, tho I kind'a miss "Chiyo-chan" sometimes.'

'That's OK. You look nice that way.' She then stopped smiling, and looked right at me. 'So what's wrong, Chiyo-chan?' she asked again.

I sighed and took another sip on my juice. 'It's ... it's him.' I looked, and she was listening closely. I continued. 'When I first met him, he seemed nice enough. This was last summer, when I had time off from classes, and he visited me in North Carolina. I figured it'd be all OK in the end, so I went along with it. Things went smoothly for a bit, too. Then I started noticing he was ... well, not cold, not hurtful, just ... ' My voice trailed off as I tried to think of how to put it into words.

Osaka asked, 'Disappointed?' I turned to her, and she smiled sadly. 'I wrote a song about it, long ago.'

I sighed and nodded. 'That's it exactly,' I said. 'He's got this image of what a wife should be. And none of it involved me studying abroad. Or anywhere, really. He doesn't hate me, just ... I don't think he feels that much for me, aside from that I'm his wife-to-be, and he's trying to train me "right", whatever that is.'

Osaka leaned closer and asked, 'So how do ya feel 'bout him?'

I chuckled humourlessly. 'He's been a good provider. Can't hold that against him.'

'I said how do ya feel?'

I sighed again. 'I ... I can't really say I love him. I've tried, really, but ... I just can't love the guy. It was his idea to come back, and I thought I'd want to see home again, but he wanted to take me away from everyone I knew in Carolina.' I closed my eyes, and thought. 'I don't think I even had a chance to leave Sakaki or Kaorin a forwarding address for me. They must think I fell off the face of the earth. And I haven't been able to find anyone else.' I looked back to Osaka, tears gathering in my eyes. 'You're the first of my friends I've met in a long time, Osaka.'

Osaka reached to my cheek, and touched a tear away. I guess I must've started crying. Just like a child, I could hear them saying. Even though Tomo cried more often than I did, I felt my cheeks tinge with embarassment. I was sitting here, crying, even if it was a little bit. I looked back to her, and she looked to me, eyes locked on mine.

'Your eyes're so pretty, Chiyo-chan. Ya shouldn't hafta cry with 'em, it's like it washes the pretty away an' leaves just sadness.' She kept her hand gently touching my cheek, and ... no.

That can't be. She was looking at me like ... like I always saw Kaorin stare at Sakaki. And the main reason she'd done that was that she was ... but this is Osaka! She can't love me, and she should know I can't love her like that. What's she thinking?

Maybe the tears were making nice glittery patterns for her, and she'd fixed on them. She'd often been easily distracted, often falling asleep outright. But as the seconds wore on, I couldn't believe that it was that. Finally, I pulled back, and downed the rest of my juice bottle. I heard a distant sigh, and felt something ... wrong in me. Did I just wrench her heart out? Did I just hurt my best friend?

I trned to look at her again, and she was ... the same old Osaka. Nothing was different, except that she seemed to look to me more often now. I sighed at the possible reason for that, and tried bringing her back to normal. 'Um ... you've been pretty busy too, haven't you, Miss Osaka?'

I saw her tense at 'Miss', but soon she replied normally. 'Yeah. I've been all over the country, promotin', listenin', singin'. But mostly promotin'. It's like every store in Japan's got my album.'

I giggled and responded, 'It's more than that. I found out you'd gotten into singing when I found one of your CDs in an American shop!'

'Wow, I wondered why they wanted me to sing so much English that one time. How'd I do there?'

'You were nearly sold out. We were hoping you'd manage to come by on tour one of these days, but you never did.'

'Nah, I only just got back from doin' Korea. They're nice folks, but kind'a weird. Tried talkin' to 'em, but even when I was nice an' slow ... ' She actually slowed down here. 'They ... still didn't understand.'

'They speak Korean, Osaka.'

'Oh, right. It's Russians that speak Japanese, right?'

I giggled. 'Now you're just being silly.'

She laughed. 'I've been all over, really. I guess it's hard ta keep track of where I've ended up. But everyone I meet's so nice. An' they keep tellin' me how great I sing. That's nice of them, ain't it?'

'So's your voice. I thought so since I first heard it, and now it's much better, too.'

'Ya mean I didn't sing that good earlier?'

I winced at how hurt she looked when she asked that. 'No, no, OsakaI mean that they, er, refined your talents. You were pretty good in high school, and now you're great!'

'Aww, that's so nice 'a you ta say.'

She smiled and sipped her beer again; I took another swallow of juice. We stayed quiet for a while, just drinking and thinking. Then I turned, and caught her gazing at me again. Her eyes were shimmering for some reason, and I couldn't help but look into them. Then I noticed she was just about gazing into mine. I asked, 'Um, is there something you're seeing, Osaka?'

'Just how pretty your eyes are, Chiyo-chan. Just the right shade of brown, and so nice. They're still lovely, too,' was her dreamy reply.

I stood stunned. What was she talking about? Why was she sounding like this? It reminded me of when I'd listen to Kaorin go on about Sakaki, and ... no, it can't be that. 'It can't be that,' I echoed.

'Huh?'

I shook my head. 'Nothing, sorry.'

Osaka sighed, and sat back.

It felt like hours later that we just stopped talking. Not out of unfriendliness, just that there's only so much catching up you can do until you're all caught up. I set my last empty bottle down next to the others, and I heard a soft clink as Osaka did the same. I started the car up, and drove us back to the market. By now, the roads were mostly white, but I managed to keep everything under control.

We returned to the parking lot, and I parked next to the only remaining car. It had to be Osaka's, of course. We climbed out, and started dusting it off. It turned out she drove a Toyota, too. Top-line, but not ostentatious.

We stared at each other for a few moments. I thought of how long it'd been since I saw her, and how happy she seemed to be now. And yet, she's also one of the most popular stars in Japan. The Kasuga Ayumu that the fans always knew ... was still good old Osaka.

But why was she gazing at me like that? Maybe she missed me. Or maybe ... maybe she meant something when she was telling me about my eyes? No. That couldn't be it.

Osaka interrupted my thoughts as she came over to hug me. I hugged back. Nothing wrong there, two good friends hugging. We stepped back, and she smiled at me. 'I knew you would grow up some day, Chiyo.' She fidgeted a little. 'Um ... mind if I ask ya somethin'?'

'No, go right ahead.'

'Well ... mind if I still call ya Chiyo-chan?'

I giggled. 'I think Sakaki's the only one that did it after she saw me now. And that's because she's still the biggest. At least, she did until Kaorin looked at her funny.' I giggled. 'She does call her Kaori-chan, tho,' I continued. 'And Kaorin looks so cute when she's cuddling with Sakaki!'

'Wow ... ' Osaka looked amazed.

'What is it?'

'I never realized Kaorin liked her like that.'

I stared at Osaka. 'Um, they sent us announcements, you know.'

'Oh, right.'

We stayed there, leaning against her car, for several moments. I didn't know what to say. Then I looked a little more closely, and saw. She was gazing at me again. And it wasn't a joke this time.

'Um, Miss Osaka,' I asked, 'are you allright there?'

She didn't look away this time. 'I've always liked your eyes, Chiyo-chan.'

'What?'

She just smiled and continued talking. 'They've always looked so happy, sparklin'. Like you're such a happy girl. Always loved seein' ya happy, Chiyo-chan.'

I fidgeted a bit. 'Er, thank you ... '

'You're more than welcome. In fact, I wish I could look inta them all day an' know I was the one makin' ya happy.'

'What?' It had to be the beer talking or something. She couldn't be feeling that way about me! I'm sure it was the beerdoesn't it usually affect lighter people more quickly or something like that?

She smiled dreamily. 'Always so eager ta help others, too. You're a great person, Chiyo-chan, an' I always kind'a hoped you'd always love me like I love you.'

'L..love?' I stuttered. 'How..I mean, we're both girls, you know, and I don't think I can do ... that ... '

She just smiled again. 'Oh, I already know that. An' I knew you wouldn't understand while we were in school, either. That's why I didn't try pullin' anythin'. But now ya understand what I'm talkin' about.' She then sighed. 'I've always wanted ta do somethin' for ya, Chiyo-chan. Somethin' ta make ya smile an' feel good. But I couldn't do nothin'.' She sighed again. 'An' now, I dunno.'

'Are you sure you're feeling OK, Osaka?' She looked almost hurt when I asked that, so I quickly added, 'I mean, are you sure you're not ... er, drunk?'

'That's silly. Why would I be drunk?'

'You'd already had all that beer. It might be affecting you.'

'"All that"? You mean just half a bottle?'

I stared. She saw, and reached back into my car, and pulled out the bottles she bought. One wasn't even half empty, and the other two were still sealed closed. 'But, but weren't you drinking with me?'

'Nah, it'd be better if I told ya this stuff while sober.'

I thought frantically for a while. She's just about declaring she loves me! But she's a girl, and I couldn't love her like she loves mewe're girls, and I shouldn't do that with another girl. I'm engaged, too! Granted, the guy probably loves me less than Tomo does and it's clear Osaka'd do everything he says he would if she could.

Then I remembered a conversation I had with Sakaki. I was just with her, Kaorin was off at work and Sakaki'd had some time off to talk. I asked her how she knew she was in love. She looked thoughtful for a while, as if trying to gather her thoughts. Then she shrugged, and answered, 'I didn't.'

'Then how could you two'

She just smiled and shook her head, quietly interrupting me. 'It took time, but I eventually knew. And now I know. That's what matters,' she answered.

I returned to the present, looking at Osaka. She seemed to be concerned, worried. Probably because she's expecting me to tell her no. That I can't love her, that we shouldn't be together that way. And I almost want to. I have a home, I have a fiancee, I have what I need.

'Except love,' a voice told me. And the voice was my own.

'Huh?' Osaka replied. I must've spoken aloud, and she heard it.

I looked to her again, and walked over, and sighed. I couldn't leave my fiance behind, not like this. But Osaka deserved better than for me to just leave her, and she is my friend. And it couldn't hurt this once.

I leaned in and gently kissed her on the cheek. And as I did that, I could almost feel her tense, shiver, relax, sag ... I think fifty emotions ran through the poor girl when I did that, and I sighed as I drew back. 'I have to go ... home, Osaka. I'm sorry.'

She sighed, and bowed her head. 'I gotta go, too. I can finish gettin' the car ready ... '

We fidgeted uneasily for a few moments again, before I broke the ice again. 'I'll ... see you around, Osaka?'

'Yeah, sure.'

'Thanks for talking ... '

'Y'welcome.' She then nodded, and started clearing more of the snow from her car. I climbed into mine and drove away. And tried to not see her watching as I receded into the distance.

I drove for a while, watching the weather. Then a soft chime told me that I should look for a gas station. Sure enough, I found one, a few metres before one of the major intersections in this part of town. I pulled in, and saw it was one of the old full-service types. More expensive, but the service was something to behold, and money really isn't a huge concern for me; I don't spray it around like other rich kids do, but it's there.

I sat in the car as they filled the tank. The way I was parked, I was staring at the street I was driving on, and watched a lone car pull up toward the traffic light. By now, the temperature had changed slightly, and a soft rain had started. The snow was already being washed away, and I knew soon it'd just be another wet day. I looked again at the lone motorist, and blinked a few times when I saw it was Osaka's car. She'd obviously not seen me, I was screened by a few bushes and the pumps as she approached, and now I was behind her. I couldn't see her face, but her posture seemed different.

The light changed to green, and I sighed as I waited to watch her disappear. But she didn't. Instead, I saw her slump forward, and while I was far away, I could see a slight twitch in her shoulder. Almost as if she were sobbing into her steering wheel? I shook my head, and sighed. When I looked up again, she'd finally noticed she could go, and had already driven away.

A rap at the window caught my attention, and I turned to the attendant. The epitome of the smiling servant, he waited for me to pay for the gasoline. I reached into my purse to get the wallet with my credit cards, and found it ... along with a note. I didn't remember leaving one in there, so I absently handed him a card and unfolded the paper that I had found. All that was written on it was an address, and two letters in English: 'K. A.'

I stared at it for a while, then realized. 'K. A.' 'Kasuga Ayumu.' The address must've been hers, where she is now. The characters were in her handwriting. She must've left it in my purse when she was gathering my things up.

I reached out the window to retrieve my receipt and card, and rolled it up. Once I'd put my things away, I found myself tracing the marks on the paper. I stared at it, then felt a bit of wetness on my cheek. Must've been the rain coming in while the window was open. I reached to brush it away, and looked up in the mirror to see how I looked.

I just stared at the girl in the mirror. Who is she? Who will she be? Will she even be? Will she be herself, or someone else's thing? Or is she supposed to be this, or that, or what?

The drop on my cheek was a tear. I closed my eyes, and started the car. I rubbed my eyes to make sure no more tears were there (can't cry myself into a wreck), and pulled back out onto the road, and headed for home.

I was at that stoplight again the next day. This time, tears weren't in my eyes.

The night before, I told ..'him' what would have to happen. I remembered his name, but even while we were engaged, he was just 'him' to me. He was very taken aback, but he admitted that things would have to be this way. The look on his face told me that he did have feelings for me, in his own way, and that this was how he'd best be able to show how he cared.

The light changed, and I looked again at the note. To get there, I'd have to turn here. I'd never even been on this road before. Strangely symbolic, I thought to myself. I looked over to the passenger seat. It was currently empty; I wanted to make sure I wasn't carrying too much, but I really didn't bring a lot back with me from the States. It was already packed, neatly in the back, and the only thing I kept out was a brochure I'd gotten. Two, actually. 'Tokyo University Pre-Law Information'.

As I pulled up to the address on Osaka's note, I saw her standing outside the gate. I didn't even pay attention to the house she had. It could've been a shack, it could've been twice as big as mine, but I didn't care. She was standing out front, holding just a pair of suitcases and wearinga simple peach dress with a white jacket over it. I just looked to her, and she smiled that warm smile to me as she walked over to the left of the car, opened the door, and sat down.

Right on the brochures. 'Hey, what kind'a seats do you have here?'

I sighed, but laughed. 'Read them.'

She fished under herself, and looked. 'Wow, you're actually gonna go to Tokyo University?'

I shook my head, still smiling, and replied, 'Nope. WE are going to Tokyo University!'

She looked to me. 'But I'm just a singer, I ain't smart enough for ... pre-law?'

'I've always liked words,' I said, 'and laws are just words, you know?'

'Yeah, I know. I've wondered what I could do if I could just add an' subtract a few from the ones on the books now.'

'Well ... want to find out?'

She looked back to her house, then to the brochures. I wondered if I'd made a mistake. I was asking her to give up her singing career to go to school, and ... and ...

That was supposed to end with 'and I don't think she'd make it through, either,' but something held me back. She might say otherwise, but I knew Osaka wasn't stupid. She just thought ... differently from other people. Not many people really caredthey either knew her as an airhead, or as the cute face singing all the time.

She leaned back, sighing. 'I don't think'

I cut her off. 'Osaka, you're a very special girl. Let's try this, OK? Just us taking a chance together. And you know I'll be here for you if you need me.'

She brightened up, and looked to me. 'Ya mean ta say you ... '

I sighed. 'I told him it was off. I'm coming with you, and we'll give this a go.' I looked at her again, and saw the question in her eyes. 'I don't know if I have ... those feelings for you.' I looked down after saying that. I must be a great person, huh ... giving her all this hope, then dashing it all so quicikly afterward.

She then touched under my chin, and lifted my eyes up to see her again. 'It's OK. Let's find out, huh? Even if nothin' comes out of this, I'll have enough torch songs ta last me for years.'

I chuckled. 'Does that make me your old flame?'

She smiled and answered, 'For ya to be that, we gotta have a whirlwind romance an' break up tragically.'

I didn't answer; I just smiled, and drove away, toward ... well, toward whatever would come.

* * *

Note 2: The title refers to the song that inspired this fic. 


End file.
